D.Suresh Kumar is returning to familiar turf as president-designate of the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat.
Back in 2005, he had become a member of the district panchayat for the first time, after winning with a record margin from Balaramapuram.
Youngest member
At 26, he was then the youngest member in the council, which was then headed by the current CPI(M) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan.
This time too, he has come with a record of sorts, having won with a considerable margin from the Malayinkeezhu division, which has been with the United Democratic Front (UDF) for a long time.
Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday, after the CPI(M) district committee announced his name officially for the president post, he said that new governing council in the district panchayat has much to live up to after the performance of the previous five years under V.K.Madhu.
“The district panchayat had become a model in the previous term winning several national and State awards with innovative projects for the people, and even getting its name on the Guinness Record.
So, we have a responsibility to continue some of those projects and launch new ones, as promised in the Left Democratic Front’s poll manifesto.
For instance, there is the commitment to extend the employment guarantee scheme to urban areas too and to provide more houses under the LIFE project. We also intend to formulate projects in various sectors after discussions with subject matter experts,” says Mr.Suresh Kumar.
He feels that much has changed since his previous tenure in the district panchayat, with decentralisation becoming strengthened further.
“This being the silver jubilee year of the people's plan programme (Janakeeyasoothranam), we can expect a lot of projects and more funds for local bodies,” he says.
Suresh Kumar had dived deep into politics quite early in his life, becoming the unit secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI) at the Government Higher Secondary School in Balaramapuram.
Student leader
He was also a leader of the SFI at the Christian College in Kattakada and continued being active in campus politics while pursuing his law degree. He also headed the welfare standing committee in the Nemom block panchayat.
“My father was a party member. So, I naturally was attracted to the party and became a member while in school,” he says.
Currently, he is the district joint secretary of the Pattikajathi Kshema Samithi (PKS), and a member of the CPI(M)'s Nemom area committee as well as the CITU area committee.
A.Shailaja Begum, who was the vice-president of the district panchayat in the previous term, is set to retain the post for the next five years.
